Review of Justice is a Woman by Catherine Cookson

So I was at a Book Fair sometime in August (or September) I'm not exactly sure, where I (as usual) bought hoards of books as I have a penchant for reading (which you'll probably know in due course of my regular blog posts).
Well, the pile was huge and the time, not so much. I'm a law student. So well.
Anywayyyy, I finally got to read this novel by Catherine Cookson titled 'Justice is a Woman'. As I mentioned earlier that I am a law student, it was perhaps the only reason I picked up the copy of this amazing work. 

I got this at a Book Fair based only on the title. Oh boy, am I glad I did!

I am not much of a classics reader, I mean this was published in 1994 which I came to know later when I ran a Google search so I wasn't much sure I would like it. But I can never let a piece of literature lying with me left unread so I decided to give it a shot. And boy, am I glad I did. 
A couple of pages in, I feel a bit overwhelmed by the style of writing. I find it a bit difficult to grasp as it has a bit of a Victorian charm to it but I stick to my guns. After some odd 20-25 pages you start getting comfortable with her writing style. 
At first the story revolves around Joe Remington, a native of Fell Rise who falls in love with a Londoner, Elaine and eventually marries her. But from the outset, Cookson warns the readers that it is going to be one hell of a bumpy ride and delivers just that. Set in England in the period just at the dawn of the General Strike, it deals with family issues and the effect the Strike has on them. 

Catherine is a master at creating characters with different layers.
At first, you empathise with Elaine that she is unable to adjust in a foreign environment but you also dislike her a bit for her discrimination against David, Joe's colored "Butler" (in Elaine's words) but who is in fact (SPOILER ALERT! Joe's half brother, which is revealed at a later stage). However, you still like Elaine and hope that she's able to set out her differences with all of the staff at her husband's home and hope for a happy ending. Alas! That is what you won't get.
Apparently Joe's father (who's now confined himself to the top floor of the Remington house) had made a same mistake of marrying a "Madam" and warns his son to be careful and asks him whether his marriage is based on "love or lust". And just as his father predicted (*surprise surprise*parents are always right, well  most of the time) they soon start having disagreements. And what makes it worse is a pregnancy which Elaine is "tricked" into by Joe. What follows is a massive showdown between the two with  uptill now sweet Joe threatening her with physical harm. It is followed by eventual acceptance by the wife and the arrival of Betty, Elaine's sister who is pretty tomboyish in her view.

Anyhow, by this time you've started disliking Elaine and realised that she's a selfish person who knows how to get her way with people while her sister Betty is completely the opposite, always at the beck and call of the needy and also served in the army. She drove tanks (pretty badass, huh). She's also got an offer from an ageing lady, Mary to be her companion. So yeah, she's pretty dope and you instantly take a liking to her and feel bad for the poor soul who's exploited by pretty much everyone. Elaine uses her as she feels no one else is fit enough to be in her "class", Joe's father uses her to pass his time, Joe uses her to escape Elaine's nagging etc etc. You get the drill, right? She wants to get away from the family once the baby is born but Elaine is pretty happy to have her to take care of everything while she herself has an affair with her once ex in London. The nerve, I know. And there's also the Strike that the Remington business is facing the heat of, but they are still in a pretty comfortable position. 
On comes the second pregnancy. Another showdown. Yada Yada. But this time Elaine tries to abort the baby on her own! ( I know! She's crazy. By this time you start questioning yourself why you liked her in the first place. God.) Still the doctors manage to save the foetus but when the baby girl is born, she is half brain dead. Elaine wants to get rid of "it" but Joe cannot do that and starts hating his wife more than ever. Betty and the boy Martin are the only ones who interact with the little girl while Elaine hatches a plan to kill the baby girl and pins it on the boy, Martin! (By the point, you want to kill Elaine yourself).

However, everyone is pretty happy that the girl is gone as she wouldn't have got much acceptance in the society anyway. And the poor boy keeps having nightmares and it is not until Joe takes him to a hypnotist that the truth comes out. Joe drinks, gets into an accident, Betty saves him in a snowstorm and gets pneumonia herself and their love story starts. Betty gets pregnant but does not tell anyone. Then Joe wants to divorce Elaine but she won't do it (that selfish witch).

Also by this time, Joe has lost his business and is considering to take up a job as a manager in a similar business and Hitler has started attacking Britain. Elaine wants to move to England with her boy Martin who refuses to do so. And I could tell you the rest but the ending is THE BEST PART of this novel which shouldn't be ruined by A-N-Y-O-N-E. 

Catherine Cookson is an amazing writer and she was a best selling author for 17 long years!

All I can say is Justice is indeed a Woman and Catherine Cookson weaves magic in her words. I did not know she was such a big deal (She was the best selling novelist for 17 years in the UK! And continued to be so four years after her death. Damn.)
Anyhow, it made me realise that even though I am an avid reader, I haven't even touched the tip of the iceberg. She is an amazing writer and every character in her novel has some significance and she does it with so much perfection, it absolutely drives you bonkers! But seriously, how glad I am to have read this novel and learned so much about human emotions and their complexity.
Really looking forward to reading more of her books.